Roundup #1

Articles

Funny how people think they have all the answers….sometimes things are a little more complicated than we’d like them to be. This article traces efforts of the then mayor of Newark Cory Bookers attempt to reform the Newark school system in an unlikely partnership with Chris Christie and Mark Zuckerberg. Turns out money and reason can’t fix everything

Podcasts

I always thought RuPaul was entertaining but after listening to him, I have to say I admire his personal philosophy. His ideas about personal identity are very compelling. And he calls Marc out in helpful ways

The Gist with Mike Pesca, part of Slate Magazines incredible podcast production Review

Pesca is a lot of fun to listen to. He has strong opinions and is well spoken, with a great guest list and a nice mix of serious analysis and levity. Especially admire his calls for moderating our internet outrage. I look forward to this every day!

I am a devoted listener of EconTalk even when the host Russ Roberts gets a little condescending with his Libertarian nonsense. He is 90% a great interviewer and 10% Libertarian partisan. He has an amazing ability to pick interesting guests and treats them with respect even if he doesn’t agree with their point of view. This interview with Adreessen is no exception

Books

This is an amazing book that every artist or anyone who thinks about art should read. Centered around the young heroine nicknamed “Reno” as she moves through the 1970s New York art scene. Themes of time, youth, class, revolution and love make this poignant novel deeply philosophical while wrapped up in a narrative that sweeps you along in the heady times of the period.

The second in his “Bigend” series, this book is much more than a thriller. It is not science fiction per se, in fact it is firmly based in reality, but Gibson’s descriptions of every day objects and experiences capture such subtle nuances that I feel like he is describing an alternate reality. Like someone has removed all the furniture in my house and replaced it with exact replicas. You can’t tell exactly what has changed, but something is not quite right.

What to watch

Fargo, the new absurdist series on FX is one part Fargo the movie, one part Twin Peaks(ish) and one part Game of Thrones-type-murdering-of-main-characters.

Rubicon which originally aired on AMC is now streaming on Netflix. Review

This smart series starts off a little slow but builds to a deeply paranoid climax. No one gets very much sleep in this show and you get some great interior experience of the main characters. This will affirm all your secret suspicions that there is a conspiracy everywhere. It is perfect for a weekend Netflix binge